Hot Take: BMW-Alpina takeover doesn't affect you, and it shouldn't!
Quite a controversial heading, that, but let's be honest, unless you were in the market for a fast BMW that's more refined that the run-of-the-mill fast BMW, that looks classier than the latter, and on top of which, it has an unmatched aura that most modern cars — let alone BMWs — fail to exude, Alpina is irrelevant. You couldn't have bought one in India through the usual route anyway, so why bother, right?
Wrong! This is about car culture and the moment quite possibly holds as much significance as the induction of AMG into the Mercedes-Benz ecosystem, or as pedantic car historians would like to say, the 'merger'. And while AMG, like BMW's in-house 'M', was the all-guns-blazing solution to going fast in a Merc, Alpina represented a very different approach to motoring. Its makers didn't quite abandon the idea of going fast, they added refinement and class to the whole equation — and BMW didn't not notice this. So much so that when Alpina founder Burkard Bovensiepen began fettling BMWs (starting with the rather humble BMW 1500), the German carmaker actually backed the cars with its own manufacturer warranty — from 1964 onwards.
It didn't take too long for Alpina to find its calling as a standalone manufacturer, too, making undeniably unique cars based on popular BMW machines. The unending desire to perfection led them everywhere from the top of the mantlepiece to endurance races. You could buy an Alpina from select BMW dealerships abroad, without the Bovensiepen family letting the 'suits' control the beloved brand.
That changed in 2022 when the German carmaker bought out Alpina with the eventual handover scheduled for Jan 2026. It didn't take too long after the turn of the year for BMW to announce the new 'BMW Alpina' brand, which is all set to focus on performance without compromising on comfort. And while the first product to come out is yet to be launched, it's clear that BMW is going to bank heavily on customisation.
The future might look a tad bleak, but let's not jump to conclusions here. While developing new models in the rapidly changing EV-focussed automotive world must've been a reason behind Bovensiepen to let BMW take charge (excuse the pun!), there's no way BMW can — or will — give up on the legacy of what could've just been another tuner but gave a brand-new dimension to high-performance BMWs.
We are hopeful that BMW Alpina grows into something more than BMW's luxury-orientated equivalent to Mercedes-Benz's Maybach. Having had the privilege to be a part of BMW much before the acquisition happened without losing its identity, there's a chance that Alpina won't be relegated to be just another chapter in BMW's history just yet.
What can we do for you?
At Racetech, we don't believe that one size fits all, and if you want your BMW to be more cosseting without losing out on the ability to surprise you every time you step on the gas pedal, please get in touch!